CPR - Know What CPR Is, Its Importance And How It Is Performed.

Human life is very vital and sometimes in emergency situations there's more we can do than we think. One of them is as simple as giving a cardiovascular resuscitation (CPR) or mouth - to - mouth) which goes a long way to saving lives by reviving breathing and oxygen flow.

Let's get into it.

What is CPR?

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CPR or mouth - to - mouth as it is commonly referred to as is one of the important life saving skill or knowledge everyone should have. It is very important as it helps to saves lives in crucial health crises.

CPR, is a short for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. It is usually performed when the patient has no detected pulse or heartbeat. The main aim of CPR is to keep blood flow and oxygen flow. It is so important that it has been reported that it doubles or triples an individual's chances of survival.

CPR can be performed on men, women, children and adults. Similarly, men, women, children and adults can all perform CPR till medical personnel arrive. The type or kind of CPR a patient receives depends on the level of training the CPR giver has. This leads us to the types of CPR.

What are CPR Types?

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CPR is life saving but like everything else, poor delivery can result into doing more damage and resulting into severe medical complications. Due to this, two types of CPR has been prescribed or advised.

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A picture of hands only CPR.

The first type, Hands - only CPR is encouraged for use by individuals with not much or no CPR training. It should also good for people who have the training but are not 100% confident enough in applying the method. Hands - only CPR is a very good CPR technique and can still improve chances of survival. This CPR type is encouraged to be applied on only adults.

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An image of CPR with breaths.

The second type, Traditional CPR with breaths is encouraged for individuals with CPR training and confident enough in delivering it correctly to the patient. This is where the name mouth - to - mouth comes in because CPR with breaths involves chest compressions and mouth - to - mouth. CPR breaths is encouraged to be applied on not only adults but children as well.

How To Perform CPR.

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Let's look at how the 2 types of CPR are performed.

Hands Only CPR.

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Follow these steps in order to administer good hands only CPR.

• Observe the scene and make sure that it is safe for you to get to the patient.

• Check to see if the patient is responsive.

• If patient isn't responsive, call 911 for an ambulance. Give CPR is the patient is a suspected drowning victim or a person that just suffered cardiac arrest. It is important to know not everyone lying unconscious needs CPS.

• Once you decide to give CPR, get the patient to a good scenery like a flat surface and get in the right CPR position by kneeling new the patient.

• As much as possible check for heartbeat and if it isn't detectable, give chest compressions.

• According to Healthline if patient is an adult, put one of your hands in the center of the chest and put the other hand on top of the first. Then, interlock your fingers and raise them up so only the heel of you hands is on the chest.

cpr in adults
In the image above, look at the position and style of the hands.

However if patient is a child, put one hand in the center of the chest and press down to give chest compressions. Also, if patient is an infant, put two (2) fingers in the center of the chest and press down to start compressions. 30 compressions.

cpr in children

cpr in infants

• Following the guidelines above, start compressions. For an adult, push straight down with interlocked fingers at 2 inches. For children, press down with one hand at 2 inches and for infants, press down with 2 fingers at 1.5 inches. Give 100 - 120 compressions per minute but after completion of every 30 chest compressions.

• Continue the step above till the patient starts breathing and lay him or her on his or side till the ambulance arrives.

CPR with breaths ( Mouth - to - mouth ).

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• Follow all the steps in the hands only CPR type.

• After the 30 compressions and 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute, open the airway by lifting the chin slowly.

• With the opened airway or mouth, close the nostrils, cover the patients mouth with yours and give 2 breaths.

mouth-to-mouth after chest compressions

• With each breath known as a rescue breath, watch for a rise in chest. If the chest doesn't rise, try again.

• Science is so advanced now that instead of covering the airway with your mouth, a CPR mask can be used if available.

• If the patient is an infant, the mouth and nose are both covered with the CPR mask.

Importance of CPR.

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• CPR can revive heartbeat and keep patient alive.

• It helps save drowning victims and victims of cardiac arrest.

• Keep oxygen flow.

• CPR prevents brain damage.

I hope with the explanations above, everyone has learned what CPR is, how it is delivered and why it is important.

Thank you. Let's get interactive in the comments.

Reference 1: Healthline

Reference 2:Cpr.heart.org